Hi, Merħba, Salve.....

The 26th of September marks the European Day of Languages. Perhaps the Knights of the Order of St John in the Middle Ages prided themselves about the fact that they had eight “langues” but Parliament does better with its daily “Headlines” on its website in 22 languages.

What is the European Day of languages?

At the initiative of the Council of Europe, Strasbourg, the European Day of Languages has been celebrated every year since 2001 on 26 September. This day is intended to promote multilingualism in the whole of Europe as the institutions are convinced that linguistic diversity is a tool for achieving greater intercultural understanding and a key element in the rich cultural heritage of our continent.

The European Parliament

The European Parliament is committed to multilingualism, not only because the treaties foresee this but also because of transparency and an attachment to democratic principles. Documents examined by MEPs are made available to them in their own languages and interpreting facilities are provided in meetings so that all the MEPs can follow the work easily in the House, without having to be linguists as well as elected Members. Citizens can address themselves to the Parliament using their own languages.

Multilingualism online

Moreover, the EP online caters daily for users from one corner to the other of Europe by publishing daily headline news in 22 languages. The site publishes articles, interviews and provides information from the plenary session in the full range of languages.

Moreover, subtitles and voice-overs are available in most of the official languages of the EU on the online TV station of the EP, Europarl TV. In order to enhance the dialogue with the citizens, the EP launched this station on 17 September 2008 with four channels catering for the general public, the young, the press and those who want to watch direct session.